Pinecrest, FL –
The Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Sports Health Center, located in the Suniland Shopping Center, is a premier sports health program designed to provide sports injury prevention and rehabilitation programs for young athletes.
Among its services, the Sports Health Center offers unique group courses, led by certified sports health specialists, focused on injury prevention and performance training. The goal of the group program is to educate young athletes on proper movement and mechanics to prevent orthopedic injuries.
“As sports medicine professionals, all of us here at Nicklaus children's share a passion for sports injury prevention. We see firsthand the physical and psychological consequences of orthopedic injuries. We are excited to bring these programs to young athletes in the community to reduce the risk of injury and keep them in the game,” said Lauren Butler, Sports Physical Therapy Supervisor at Nicklaus Children’s Sports Health Center.
A popular training program is geared to reducing the risk of
anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and preventing reinjury in those who have had an ACL reconstruction. An estimated 250,000 athletes sustain ACL injuries in the United States each year. Female athletes are four to six times at greater risk than males. Fifty percent of athletes with ACL injuries are at a greater risk of developing osteoarthritis and have a 25 percent chance of a second injury. The estimated cost of ACL repair, including surgery and rehabilitation, is approximately $25,000 per injury.
The ACL-specific group classes offered at Nicklaus Children’s incorporate
neuromuscular training, as well as a combination of muscle strengthening and motor skill coordination. Athletes also perform agility drills and plyometric training to improve landing and cutting mechanics. This unique combination of training reduces the incidence of injury or reinjury by 72 percent, studies show.
Other group classes offered at the Nicklaus Children’s Sports Health Center include injury prevention for
runners and
dancers as well as courses that educate on weight-lifting safety.
For more information, please visit
nicklauschildrens.org/sportshealth
About Nicklaus Children’s Hospital
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is South Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with nearly 800 attending physicians and more than 475 pediatric subspecialists. The 289-bed hospital, known as Miami Children’s Hospital from 1983 through 2014, is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with several specialty programs routinely ranked among the best in the nation in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017-18 by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession’s most prestigious institutional honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.